Twister spindle



Patented Dec. 1, 1942 TWISTER SPINDLE Theodore M. Cole, Waynesboro, Va.,assigner ,to

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Wilmington, Del., a corporation ofDelaware Application July a 1941, serial No. 401,006 ,y

sciaims. (el. 57-129) This invention relates to method and means forreconditioning worn twister spindles of downtwisting machines.

Down-twisting machines such as ring twisters are commonly used fortwisting textile yarns, and

to increase productivity of the machine and to reduce operating coststhe spindles supporting the bobbin on which the yarn is wound arerotated at high speeds and relatively large packages of twisted yarnproduced. If the twister bobbin or pim is carefully balanced and hushedprecisely y to just lit the spindle on whichit is to be used so thatthereis substantially no freedom of motion between the bobbin and thespindle, the spindle can be` used for a long period of time withoutexcessive Wear. However, in a textile plant equipped with tens ofthousands of twister spindles and many more twister bobbins, it isimpossible to keep all the spindles of the same uniform diameter, thebobbins statically and dynamically balanced and the bushings within thebobbins of sumcient precise bore to properly fit any spindle on whichthey may be put. As aterially helps in lengthening the useful life ofthe twister spindle. However, in spite of these and other improvementsin this field, spindles generally become so badly worn within sixmonthsfrom their initial installation that they have had to be-replaced by newspindles. This is, of course, costly in replacement materials, in laborand, most important, in loss of time and production of the twistingplant.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a simple andquick method for salvas and reconditioning worn twister spindles wherebytheir life is prolonged several times over their initial useful period.A further object is in the provision of simple, economical'meansforrecon ditioning and prolonging the lifey of twister spindles on downVtwister machines. Other objects of this invention will be apparent fromthe description that follows.

which will be describedin connection with me accompanying drawingwherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a twister spindle and the supported bobbin,parts of which are cut away to show the areas of contact;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig.A l showing the twister spindle improvedinv accordance with a preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section, somewhat enlarged. on the line 33'of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sketch of-a split sleeve; and

Fig. 5 is a detail of a portion ci the spindle recessed accordingl to myinvention.

Referring to Fig. 1, I is the twister spindle the spindle, unbalance ofthe bobbin, ete.

fitted the contracting spring sleeve S shown in lt is necessary thatthere be a good Fig. tight fit between the inner surface oi the splitsleeve and the prepared section of the spindle and that the outersurface of the sleeve when it is sprung in place on the prepared sectionof the spindle is uniformly flush all the way around` with the rest ofthe spindle above and below this area, as shown in Fig. 2.

"rc further inustrate this invention, a wom the twoprepared portionswill. each be 0.458-

The machining or grinding inch in diameter. may be done with suitablejigs and fixtures so These objects are lrealized by my invention 55 asizo-maintain concentricity of these prepared areas. The split sleevesare prepared, for example, from spring steel stock 0.019 inch inthickness, then plated on the outside 'surface with chromium to theextent of 0.002 inch in thickness. In this way, the split sleeves havinga total thickness of 0.021 inch just completely ll the spaces preparedfor them on the spindle. The split sleeves are expanded over the spindleand slid in place and, due to the tendency of the material to contractand form a closed cylinder, tightly hug the prepared areas of thespindle. If the preparation of the spindle and the manufacture of thesplit sleeves are carefully carried out, the sleeves will be held inplace by frictional contact with the undercut portions of the spindleand the outer surface of the split sleeve will be just flush with theadjacent unworn portions oi the spindle.

Spindles thus reconditioned have been found to resist wear exceptionallywell and may be originally were in operation. Even after this extendedperiod of continued use, a further reconditioning requires onlyAreplacement of the worn split sleeves with the new pair of splitsleeves.

It is understood, of course, that the above description is by way ofillustration only and that my invention is not limited to the exactmaterial and conditions described, but is susceptible rather to widevariation. Thus, while a chromium plated split sleeve is preferred dueto the desirable hard wearing surface of chromium, plain steel sleevesmade of the proper thickness may also be used. 'Ihe life of the plainsteel sleeve will, of course, be considerably less as compared to thechromium plated sleeve, but the costof their preparation is much lessand in some instances, their use may be justified. Furthermore, insteadof plating the steel sleeves with chromium, the, plating metal may be ofanother material such as nickel. Instead of using spring steel sleevesany suitable hard wearing metal or metal alloy may be used providing ithas suillcient springiness to clamp tightly around the cut-a-way portionof the spindle.

In some cases where the spindle wear is reiatively small, for instance,where the maxim depth of wear is not over 0.008 inch and pre forinstance of the order of 0.020 inch, the

amount of chromium plating becomes excessive.

and cannot be justified as a practicalv solution. Furthermore, whenchromium is plated directly on the spindle rather than to the splitsleeve, a subsequent reconditioning of the spindle cannot be so simplyand easily carried. out as is the case when my preferred method andmeans are employed. i

By means of this invention, it has been found possible to reconditionthousands of spindles which were heretofore thought worthless, but thisinvention does more than provide a method of reconditioning a spindle sothat it is substantially as good as when it was new for spindlesreconditioned in accordance with Vthe preferred embodiment of thisinvention are vastly improved as compared with new unused spindles. Notonly is the second useful period of their life several times the lengthof the first period, but because the period of wear is greatlyincreased, the quality of yarn prepared on twisting machines equippedwith these spindles is improved. Furthermore, lwhen it becomes necessaryto replace a set of .worn split sleeves, they can be quickly removed anda new set substituted in their place at very little effort and at lowcost.

I claim: l

1. In a down-twistermachine for twisting and winding yarn, theimprovement which comprises a bobbin supporting spindle said spindlebeing recessed throughout the area of itsvsurface normally contactingthe bobbin, the recessed area being covered by a sleeve ofwear-resistant material.

2. In a down-twister machine for twisting and winding yarn, theimprovement which comprises a bobbin supporting spindle said spindlebeing recessed throughout the area of its curved surface normallycontacting the bobbin, and the recessed area being covered by a sleeveof wearresistant material, said sleeve having a thickness equal to thedepth of the recess. g

3. Ina down-twister machine for twisting and winding yarn, theimprovement which comprises a bobbin supporting spindle recessedthroughout and which sleeves tend to contract whereby to form a closefit with the spindle and to form a substantially unbroken surface withthe nonrecessed surface of the spindle.

THEODORE M. COLE.

